The DC film franchise has lost a great name today. Batman movie director Joel Schumacher has passed away at the age of 80.
According to a report by Variety, the costume designer-turned0director died in New York City earlier today after battling with cancer for more or less a year. Schumacher rose to fame in the Hollywood industry after directing three successful movies – St. Elmo's Fire which was released in 1985, The Lost Boys which was released in 1987, and Flatliners which came out in 1990.
Schumacher was put in charge of DC's Batman film franchise after Tim Burton left Warner Brother's series for the Caped Crusader. The filmmaker's first movie for DC, Batman Forever, starred Val Kilmer, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, and Nicole Kidman. The movie didn't really do good. Not only was it a flop among fans and critics, but Batman Forever raked a little over $300 million at the worldwide box office.
Interestingly enough, Schumacher continued on with the franchise, directing a second film titled Batman and Robin. George Cloony starred as Batman in the movie while Arnold Schwarzenegger played his own version of Dr. Freeze. Schumacher's second Batman movie didn't do that well among fans and critics either.
Despite the failings of Schumacher's films, the director's work remains as some of the most memorable films in the DC film franchise. Schumacher's is definitely going to be missed. He did so much for the Hollywood industry.
Read: Michael Keaton in Talks to Return as Batman in Multiple DC Movies
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